Sharing the abundance
DEVIN WEEKS/Press Coeur d’Alene Tribe member Christian Fulton, 16, of Worley, pauses for a moment in his brilliant orange and yellow regalia before he performs a dance Saturday afternoon during the second day of the Julyamsh Powwow at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds. Protruding from his headpiece is colorful deer and porcupine hair.
Spokane-Coeur d’Alene Tribal member Sugarbear Hart, 5, dances to drums in traditional regalia Saturday afternoon during the Julyamsh Powwow at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds. The powwow continues today at 1 p.m. (DEVIN WEEKS/Press)
Coeur d’Alene-Salish Tribal member Francheska Whitworth, 15, center, shakes hands with other dancers and guests during a round dance of the Julyamsh Powwow on Saturday. About 250 tribal dancers and six drum groups are performing and competing throughout the weekend. (DEVIN WEEKS/Press)
COEUR d'ALENE — Since he was just 2 years old, Christian Fulton of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe has been participating in the powwow traditions of his people.
"This is called the 'People's Dance.' It's for show and for people to have fun," he said, wearing full bright regalia as he prepared to perform Saturday afternoon at the Julyamsh Powwow.
"It's tradition to go to powwows," said Christian, 16, of Worley. "It’s fun. You see friends you haven't seen in a while, brothers, sisters. You have fun in general."
Christian and about 250 other powwow dancers and six drum groups from across the Northwest, Arizona, New Mexico and Canada are celebrating American Indian culture and performing traditional dances and songs during the three-day event at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds.
Spokane-Coeur d’Alene Tribal member Matilda Nomee brought her grandsons, Sugarbear Hart, 5, and Alvin Meninick, 4, to instill in them the importance of continuing the ancient traditions and honoring their tribe's history.
"I think it’s very important for our grandchildren," she said. "I know that once these kids keep going, they’ll be here in the circle. It will give them a sense of belonging. Our children these days, they need that sense of belonging. It will help ground them for their future."
The powwow features a variety of food vendors and merchants, as well as shaded grandstand seating to view the dancing. Powwow officials are expecting to see up to 10,000 people come throughout the weekend.
Zac Kreiss of Post Falls attended Julyamsh with his wife and three children.
"I’ve been fascinated with Native American history and culture,” he said. "It’s important for the kids to see that we weren't always here and there were other people who were here before we were and that the U.S. has a long history before the Europeans came over. We like them to see the history in person."
Julyamsh has been an event of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe for at least 20 years. Powwow director Yvette Matt has been involved with Julyamsh since 2001. She said it came about when tribal elders Dave Matheson, Ernie Stensgar and the late Cliff SiJohn wanted others to share in the success the Coeur d'Alene Tribe had been experiencing following the addition of the casino 25 years ago.
"Any time as a tribe you have abundance, you need to share it," she said. "It’s to not only share with our brothers and our sisters that aren't our own tribe, but with non-natives is to expose them to what we do and why we do it. It's also to thank the Creator. When we’re dancing and we’re singing and we’re praying, we’re praising the Creator for giving us what we have and we want to share that with others."
The Julyamsh Powwow continues today at 1 p.m. Admission is $10. Children 12 and younger are free.
Info: www.julyamsh.com